General Description: This Pokémon is very risky to play, but very rewarding if played correctly.

Justification: Many of the Pokémon that are successful in OU are relatively easy to play or have great "safe" options (e.g. U-turn). Yet, many other Pokémon look very powerful, but are less successful than they could be because of some large risks involved (e.g. Hydreigon), and some aren't successful at all (e.g. Honchkrow). This self-balancing concept intends to explore what it takes for a risky Pokémon to be successful, and how much inherent risk a Pokémon can get away with. It should be emphasized that this concept is NOT about luck management, but rather, it is about what the user can afford to do given his/her opponent's options, and vice versa.

Questions To Be Answered:

What is the relationship between risk and potential consequences, both positive and negative?

What kinds of inherently risky tactics are successful in the OU metagame?

Do risky Pokémon need some form of safe options (e.g. switch-ins) to be successful in OU, or can it get away with having few really safe options?

How does Substitute, a well-known "safe" move with nearly universal distribution, impact how this Pokémon is built and played?

How do existing Pokémon use and deal with risky situations?

Can risky Pokémon be played well in the early game, or are they better off put into action later on?

There are a number of things going on in this Level-Up pool, so I'll start with the overall flavor I was going for when putting it together. I wanted to touch on the celestial themes of the art design, especially the connotations of protection ("guardian angel") and mysticism (a sense of "the unknown," as it were). Dante tells us that angels can be good or evil, and so I've thrown in a touch of both as they almost duel with one another as the Poke levels up, to make the flavor more complex. These elements not only reference the Psychic secondary-typing without being overt, they also play to the "pseudo-legendary" notion of our 600 BST stat spread by implying a greater backstory than meets the eye (not that I have a particular story in mind, but they should lead to plenty of good Pokedex entries). I also tried to experiment with text-blocking and visualization, wherein if you give the list of moves just a quick skim or passing overview, it should make four words jump out at you without you necessarily noticing: Dance, Wind, Heal, and Wish. That is because those words are all repeated more than once amongst the move names themselves and are often spatially situated either near each other (for impact) or far apart (for the reminder-effect). So, you should feel a subliminal sense of whimsy or lightness from those four words' connotations, even as you read through the list word-for-word. If it doesn't work, then oh well; it's a poetry thing, I'm not particularly familiar with it, and it's not super important.

Moving on, I use the Biblically-significant number "3" as the backbone for three consecutive sets of three moves each: Silver Wind / Sunny Day / Heal Pulse ; Ominous Wind / Will-o-Wisp / Final Gambit ; and Ancientpower / Wish / Healing Wish. The core of the movepool, these three sets all have similar progressions of [attack]-->[general aid]-->[specific aid]. The first set (presumably belonging to the "Basic" or "Baby" evolutionary stage) is much more innocent and subdued than the latter two, which focus on the more mature concepts of suffering (Will-o-Wisp to create suffering vs. Wish to remove suffering) and self-sacrifice (Final Gambit to hurt an enemy vs. Healing Wish to help a friend). The narrative of the learnset, based on this progression, is that while Aurumoth (or its pre-evolutions) can be robbed of its innocence and tempted with "evil" or aggression (@Ominous Wind/WoW/Gambit), as it grows and matures (evolves), it becomes more selfless and "good," in the end. I'm thinking if we go for a three-stage evolutionary process, we could choose any sort of method to flavorfully bring it all together, although I personally think activating evolutions at the learning of Ominous Wind and Ancientpower would be most acceptable in this case: the basic stage could be a cutemon, the middle stage emo or something, and the final stage, of course, would be Aurumoth itself (there are even precedents for evolution-by-Ancientpower, including Yanma-->Yanmega). Speaking of Biblical numerology, although less significantly, I also use a lot of the Biblically-significant number "7" in the Level-Up pool: attacks begin to be learned at L7, all attacking moves are learned at a level with a singles digit of "7", and most moves are learned seven levels apart, excepting Ominous Wind, Ancientpower, and Tail Glow, the three of which are learned six levels after their previous moves, for a touch of subliminal mystery (6-6-6 wtf!?). There are also 12 non-Heart Scale moves to be learned, and 12 is a major Biblical number as well.

The movepool as a whole is largely pacifistic, which I thought was appropriate for a seraphim design, and so the only attacks included here are Tackle (out of necessity for a generic starting attack), and then Silver Wind, Ominous Wind, and Ancientpower. I like these moves not only because of their individual flavor merits (irrespective of one another), but also because they are the three moves available that each have a 10% chance of raising all of Aurumoth's stats at once, but with only 5 PP apiece, which is my sort of tongue-in-cheek allusion to the concept, flavor-wise. Ironically, Aurumoth gets all of its best stat-boosting moves here as well, either by leveling up to Tail Glow or by going to the Move Relearner with a Heart Scale or two to unlock the secret Dancing powers it never knew it had.

Aurumoth gets three recovery moves here: Heal Pulse, Wish, and Healing Wish, and while it can only benefit directly from one (and even then it doesn't necessarily benefit), the moves still offer that "guardian angel" vibe of taking care of its teammates, even if it's at a cost to Aurumoth itself. Other flavor choices include Sunny Day and Will-o-Wisp, which I added because of the angelic connection to fire and flame (Seraph literally means "burning ones"). In the case of these moves, Sunny Day represents more of the "clarity" aspect of the angel-fire relationship ("Clear Sky" is the Japanese translation of the move, and Sunny Day itself is a Fire-type move), while Will-o-Wisp offers the more literal interpretation of "creating fire."

Note: not that it matters, but there are actually a few illegalities involving Safeguard; however, since Safeguard is also a TM, they aren't "real" illegalities, and as such I have not included Safeguard in either of these lists, since it is legal with all moves.

Whoa, so here's where the offense comes in. I put Aurumoth's hard-hitting STAB attacks and coverage moves here because, well, it needs them somewhere, and the Egg pool still runs on flavor, just with more leeway. The flavor additions I included are Disable, Feint, and Safeguard, which are all, to various degrees, good double or triple-battle moves (and since I already started with Heal Pulse, I thought I might as well toss in a few extra goodies), and also Wing Attack because lol it has six wings. They also fit thematically into the flavor priorities I gave myself for the Level-Up movepool, in terms of exploring protectiveness (or lack thereof; both Feint and Safeguard do this) and mystical powers (both Disable and Safeguard do this). Gengar has turned Disable into an intriguing move, to say the least, so I hope people experiment with it, especially considering how, should this movepool be chosen, Choice Scarf Pokemon may be commonly relied upon to check our CAP, and a Sub/Disable or, riskier yet, QD/Disable set might frustrate their gameplans.

The only notable move illegalities here are that both Megahorn and Close Combat are illegal with Hydro Pump, which basically means mixed sets will not have auto-Rain abuse built into them. While this doesn't change the fact that QD/TG are both legal with Hydro Pump (unavoidable in the case of Quiver Dance), or that Megahorn/CC are both legal with Surf, or that Thunder is legal with everything, it remains a move illegality that reigns in the power of Rain-bosted Hydro Pump at least a little bit. No, I didn't do this on purpose, but I can at least explain why it isn't a big deal that it turned out this way. So yeah, movedump.

With the exception of Bug Buzz and Hydro Pump, Aurumoth gets all of its Special attacks here, including its primary Psychic STABs and Electric/Fighting/Fire/Ice coverage. It also gets a physical STAB attack in X-Scissor, which is a more reliable alternative to Megahorn. Additionally, Dual Screens are present, potentially pairing nicely with Healing Wish and/or Illusion. There is never a good way to talk about TMs, so I'll just say that I went through the list with an eye for the competitive VGMs I wanted, type-move and move-move requirements, Bug/Psychic moves, and generically-required TMs. After all that, there wasn't much left to add and so this is the result. Aurumoth learns 43 TM/HMs, with Sunny Day, Will-o-Wisp, and Safeguard as repeats from the LU/Egg pools, leaving 40 moves unique to this list.

I'm glad we finally have tutor moves in BW2! This list is visibly focused on Aurumoth's Psychic movepool, featuring Magic Coat, Magic Room, Roleplay, Skill Swap, Trick, Wonder Room, and Zen Headbutt (over half the list). It also learns Bug Bite as a Tutor move, along with Electroweb, Helping Hand, and Recycle (because it’s what Jesus would do), for flavor.

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I'm sure you're all looking forward to using Aurumoth, as its competitive process has been completed, but we'll have to hold our horses, as there are still two more stages to go. So until then, this thread is here so we can theorymon on Aurumoth, discuss what sets might be great, and which ones might be meh! Feel free to discuss any idea you might have - it's all guesswork as to what will be good at this point. Sets, Illusion partners, and quotes that are notable will be added to the OP.

As a reminder, Aurumoth's downfalls are a trollish speed (94) and low special bulk, while it has the upsides of high attacking stats, great physical bulk, great abilities, and a wide movepool. Any successful Aurumoth set will have to either capitalize on Illusion's surprise value, the fact that Aurumoth can run so many viable sets, or Aurumoth's key resistances.

Lead set designed to catch people off guard. Illusion for trolling, Magic Coat to reflect taunts, Healing Wish to sac Aurumoth later in the match if need be. Counter for illusion shenanigans. Can also get up a light screen if desired.

Wish Passing set designed around giving meaty wishes to team-mates, burning physical attackers with 100% accurate Will-o-wisps, dealing decent chunks of damage with 100% accurate STAB megahorn, and scouting with Protect. 252 HP Evs for meaty wishes, 132 speed EVs to outrun bulky Dnite (the only thing you're going to outrun with this set), and the rest shoved into Def for bulk. EVs can be shaved off into attack or speed from def if need be.

Same EVs as Quiver Dance except Attack instead of Special Attack. Use Megahorn for No Guard sets, otherwise use X-scissor for reliability. Zen Headbutt is backup STAB. Close Combat for coverage and the only other really viable physically attacking move on Aurumoth, or Overheat to bypass Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

Tail Glow setup. Basically Quiver Dance, but with Tail Glow. Massive power in exchange for not really outspeeding much of anything. Relies on Weak Armor boosts. Completely smashes through almost everything however.

Dual Screen setup for offensive teams. Can bluff being another pokemon quite nicely, thus ensuring that screens are easier then normal to get up. Can sac self after screens are up with Healing Wish. Megahorn is powerful STAB that prevents TAUNT WEAK.

Instead of going for a sweep, this Aurumoth can wreck things as well as clean up, and potentially sweep with a weak armor speed boost. Any of the abilities will work - change the moves you use accordingly. EVs to put out as much hurt as possible as well as outspeed timid offensive Heatran.

While you can't mimic Nasty Plot and it will be given away with Tail Glow, Both Pokemon share the same Stealth Rock weakness and can use Thunderbolt or Thunder. Thundurus-T also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, which makes it a fantastic Pokemon to bluff as.

With the exact same vulnerability to hazards, Chandelure can also be mimed using Will-O-Wisp. Chandelure also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, and Aurumoth can nail any Dark-type switchins with Megahorn.

As a note, I was originally going to make this thread now to get a head start on the playtest but didn't have time to today, so I asked if anyone else was willing to do so, and nyttyn very kindly stepped up to the plate, so thank you very much for doing so, and to everyone else on #cap who helped out with it.

Could have chosen a better title, but oh well...
EDIT: Actually I think I'll change it. There, much better. More official and all that.

I'd switch the slashes on the QD set as Psychic is much better with Focus Blast and Psyshock much better with Hydro Pump.

I'd also advise slashing Overheat with Trick and maybe slashing Weak Armour on CB (sort of reverse Moxie) and I'd probably prefer to run the first set's moves with No Guard anyway but no comments aside from that at first glance:

This set works with Aurumoth's physical side, with both formidable Attack and Defense. Dragon Dance boosts his Speed and Attack to great levels, so even if you want to lean more towards the Defensive side, you still pack a powerful punch. Megahorn and Will-O-Wisp become a hella lot more useful with 100 accuracy, and you should use Zen Headbutt over CC if you feel more Defensive than offensive, and either Will-O-Wisp or Toxic are great choices.

Who else sees damage-reducing berries being handy for Weak Armour Aurumoth? I'm talking about Charti and Tanga berry in particular, which reduces the damage of Stone Edge and U-turn respectively. Moves that would allow Genesect and Terrakion to severely threaten you normally are now moves that you can take on the chin quite nicely, and allow you to reach +2 speed in one turn if you use QD / DD on the same turn that you get hit. It'd be a little less effective against Genesect than Terrakion, as you run the risk of Gene simply going for Flamethrower to roast you,but you could mitigate that by carrying something threatening and flame resistant on the same team, such as Heatran for instance. Even then, it's risky, as you're playing mind games with your opponent and you stand to lose out big time if you mispredict, but hey, that's what the project was made for, right?

I believe Blissey would make a good partner as well. Given its double resistance to Fighting and excellent physical bulk, it could very well act as a replacement Skarmory in the famous SkarmBliss combo. This doesn't even mention the potential of Illusion variants, who can really screw over certain counters if it gets in a Dragon Dance or Quiver Dance.

Tyranitar, Scizor, and Infernape remain a problem for the core, but Close Combat variants can handle Tyranitar while Aurumoth with a Psychic-type move can OHKO Infernape after a boost. Scizor are still harder to handle, but are additionally countered by Overheat. I think it's a core worth trying.

I think No Guard Quiver Dance will be the most common set because of the sheer power of the QD boost and No Guard allowing it to use stronger coverage moves.

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That may be, but keep in mind Aurumoth has a decidedly average Speed stat, which at +1 still puts it behind almost all Pokémon in OU that commonly run Choice Scarf - most notably Genesect. With some good prediction, you can get a boost from Weak Armor on a weak physical attack, and then use QD as they switch out to get +1 SAtk/+2 Spd. This isn't to say that No Guard won't be common on QD sets - just I think many players will realise the value of that extra Speed boost you can potentially get from Weak Armor. It's most certainly easier to acquire than setting up 2 QDs, anyway.

I think Will-o-wisp should get a slash on the Illusion Lead set, probably over Healing Wish. Being able to cripple something on Turn 1 could really turn the tide of a match, and Illusion gives you a great bluff to do so.

Be sure to put that Kyurem and its steroids infused forme are good partners. They're so powerful that mispredicting which Pokemon it is can mess up an opposing team pretty badly. Also, Kyurem and Aurumoth take identical damage from entry hazards, which is useful in creating a diversion.

While you can't mimic Nasty Plot and it will be given away with Tail Glow, Both Pokemon share the same Stealth Rock weakness and can use Thunderbolt or Thunder. Thundurus-T also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, which makes it a fantastic Pokemon to bluff as.

With the exact same vulnerability to hazards, Chandelure can also be mimed using Will-O-Wisp. Chandelure also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, and Aurumoth can nail any Dark-type switchins with Megahorn.

/

While it's more difficult to bluff as Lucario / Cobalion, they take the same Spikes damage even if the SR damage is vastly different. Aurumoth can also fake Lucario with Close Combat. A CB Illusion Aurumoth Close Combat is roughly the same power as an Expert Belt Lucario Close Combat (foes weak to it will be KO'd, foes that are neutral will see little difference), while people will be curious about Cobalion's damage output, Colbalion's stronger defenses and different resistances give it a slightly different role than Lucario in backing Aurumoth.

Jellicent is another Pokemon that takes the same Spikes damage as Aurumoth, and in this particular case it can also use Will-O-Wisp, Ice Beam, and Hydro Pump to bluff, having a much higher Base Stat.

What, Rhyperior? Well, they take the same Spikes damage, Rhyperior is immediately threatening, Rhyperior lures in things you'd want Aurumoth to destroy for it, and both Pokemon can use Megahorn.

Hey nyttyn, is there any chance you could clean up the OP a little to make it look more like an analysis skeleton than an RMT? For instance: taking the sprites out, flush-left justifying the entire post, removing the flavor text from the movepool quote (or just linking to the submission), putting all the EVs in the correct order, and bullet-pointing the set summaries for better explaining and easier reading. Also the 100 HP / 252 [Atk/SpA] / 152 Spe "standard" spread is not self-explanatory, so if you could explain its advantages over a simple 252/252+ spread would be good.

Other than that, I'm pleased at the variety of potential sets people are coming up with. At least in the theorymoning stage, Aurumoth seems plenty capable of being a strong offensive booster and a capable offensive supporter. It's interesting to note that pretty much all of these sets have combinations of moves and/or unique enough boosting/attacking moves to render sustained Illusions difficult (infuriating Deck Knight), which may leave IllusionMoth only one free turn on average to take advantage of its trickery.

I'm also looking forward to seeing how the difference between +1 Spe and +2 Spe affects Aurumoth's ability to run through teams (Scarfers always seem to last the whole battle, don't they...), and if the SpD boosts from Quiver dance will end up saving it from all the defensive threats that can wear it down.

I think Substitute+Illusion sets would be effective as lures. Substitute on the switch as the opponent switches in the wrong pokemon to counter you and then promptly eliminate said counter. Almost every pokemon in the game finds a use for substitute, so its presence on Aurumoth will not be any huge giveaway.

Here's the set i was thinking of

Auramoth@ Life Orb
Timid nature
Illusion
100 HP/252 SPA/152 SPE

-Substitute
-Ice Beam
-Bug Buzz
-Thunderbolt

This set is mostly for dealing with Terrakion's checks. Ice Beam for gliscor, Bug Buzz for S;owbro Thunderbolt to round off coverage here is a physical variant

Okay, random idea that's been floating through my head: what about an aurumoth and a zoroark on the same team disguised as the same thing (maybe conkeldurr)? I'm not sure how effective it would be, but you could definitely play some mind games with your opponent.

Be sure to put that Kyurem and its steroids infused forme are good partners. They're so powerful that mispredicting which Pokemon it is can mess up an opposing team pretty badly. Also, Kyurem and Aurumoth take identical damage from entry hazards, which is useful in creating a diversion.

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I very much agree with this, especially Kyurem-B. Kyurem-B has such a ridiculous physical attack that many opponents will go straight to their physical wall upon switch in, and often steels. A specially-based illusion Aurumoth would be a perfect lure, as with overheat and just generally strong special moves he could surprise and take out Kyurem counters. He could even run ice beam and/or sub to keep up the uncertainty if the opponent tries to scout with protect. And of course, if you'd rather Aurumoth take on the primary role rather than prime the way for kyurem, you could run either tail glow or quiver dance to punish the opponents mistake.

Moderator

Just for clarification, the CAP 4 project was well underway before even Garchomp dropped. Hence,

Garchomp and Black Kyurem will not be allowed in this test. Genesect will be allowed in this test.

So if we talk about Garchomp or Black Kyurem, it would have to be in the context of the CAP metagame, which will be closed during the playtest. After the playtest, though, you can discuss Aurumoth in the CAP metagame in this thread or this thread or maybe ANOTHER thread will be made, idk...

Fully invested 120 attack stat plus 120 base power stab move with no drawbacks (thanks to No Guard) on a special sweeper who outspeeds base 130's and hits like a truck on the special side as well at +1? Brokenmoth.

Edit: Set explanation. Naughty because it's SpD is crap already (although Brokenmoth doesn't care about this thanks to QD). Life Orb for max power. Enough speed to outpace base 130's at +1, max Atk because it doesn't get boosted and dump the rest in SpAtk. Pretty much weaken your opponents team a bit and kill their scarfed mon (read: Genesect), then savage everything because neither physical nor special walls are safe. Brokenmoth.

A defensive core that, if played with good prediction, can outclass the famous SkarmBliss combo with brilliant results. Aurumoth has the EVs to switch in on most neutrally effective physical hits, taking almost no damage from Fighting-type moves, a perfect compliment to Blissey's Fighting-weakness. Likewise, Blissey can take the special hits Aurumoth would likely faint from. Lure in a physical attacker, cripple it, and pass on a wish to yourself or a teammate. Both share the same weakness to spikes, leftovers recovery, and the moves Wish and Protect. Without Stealth Rock set up, it becomes hard for your opponent to decide which end of the offensive spectrum to hit you with, giving you a heavy amount of momentum if they guess wrong. Bonus if they actually switch before making their attack as well. Infernape with Taunt are most likely to counter this core, but given all the factors of predictions to be made with switching, illusions, and move choice, an Infernape is sooner a battle of prediction rather than a true check. Overall the core is very risky, but extremely rewarding if played to its fullest potential.

Well actually Close Combat is illegal with Bug Buzz and Hydro Pump. You'd have to move a few things around for that. It could still work, though, as CC hits Tyranitar, SpD Heatran, Blissey, and Chansey better, and +3 Psychic will probably power through more than a few weakened resistors (NP Azelf used to do this a lot). This also leaves the fourth slot open for one of the BoltBeams or Surf to round out SE coverage.

EDIT: now that I think about it a little more it sounds like a completely different TG set than the one posted, maybe even to the point of wanting a different EV spread. I am tempted to try both.